Saturn blue E and reddish G rings

Boux · Post #1by **Boux** » 13.06.2006, 19:39

EDITED!

Hi all,
As a follow-up to the thread:
http://shatters.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9655&sid=968c9182ab6f3348f1d58ac6188af807
Here is a picture of the Saturn E blue and reddish G ring:

I have made the tint as reasonably subdued as possible so that it is still clearly visible.
I can make it still more transparent. Just tell me.
Obviously, the dynamic of our CRTs or Flat Panels does not allow to come near a realistic rendering.
If you like it, I will add the reddish G ring (done!).
Anyway, comments appreciated.

buggs_moran · Post #2by **buggs_moran** » 13.06.2006, 19:46

I like it and it is nice to see, but I feel that it would have to be more transparent, just above the threshold of visible. I think the color is good. Is it a separate file?

Boux · Post #3by **Boux** » 13.06.2006, 19:52

buggs_moran wrote:I like it and it is nice to see, but I feel that it would have to be more transparent, just above the threshold of visible. I think the color is good. Is it a separate file?

I can make it more transparent.
Actually, it is an add-on.

Boux · Post #4by **Boux** » 13.06.2006, 20:06

It's done.
I have updated the picture at the top of this thread.
I don't believe it would make much sense to make it more transparent.
Some displays with poor dynamic may have problems rendering it.

buggs_moran · Post #5by **buggs_moran** » 13.06.2006, 20:26

I think it looks great and I would actually be interested in seeing the red ring. Where did you get your sizing from?

Boux · Post #6by **Boux** » 13.06.2006, 20:31

Thanks for your comments.
I will rework the profile a little bit to make it still more subtle and add the red G ring (at the very threshold of visibility, tested on several displays).
It will be a stand-alone add-on weighting only a few kilobytes!

Johaen · Post #7by **Johaen** » 13.06.2006, 20:37

It does look very nice. What is the size of the texture? With my ATI card, I'm limited to 2k (ugh...

) textures.

Boux · Post #8by **Boux** » 13.06.2006, 20:37

buggs_moran wrote:I think it looks great and I would actually be interested in seeing the red ring. Where did you get your sizing from?

I took data from this site:
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/saturnrings.htm

Boux · Post #9by **Boux** » 13.06.2006, 20:40

Johaen wrote:It does look very nice. What is the size of the texture? With my ATI card, I'm limited to 2k (ugh... ) textures.

Don't worry, the current texture is 1k only lol
The final one may be 2k.
It should be OK for most people

julesstoop · Post #10by **julesstoop** » 13.06.2006, 21:50

This looks really okay. Well done Boux.
I can just see it (because I know it's there) on my MBP with my screen brightness three notches above 'off', which is a normal setting in the evening. With screen brightness set to maximum, It's quite clear to the eye. But that's a setting one will normally only use in daylight.

buggs_moran · Post #11by **buggs_moran** » 13.06.2006, 22:44

Wow, I just looked at the jpg on my CRT monitor at home and really noticed the difference. I have a LCD at work and the blue stands out. Here it is even more subdued. I like it even more.

Boux · Post #12by **Boux** » 14.06.2006, 08:00

buggs_moran wrote:Wow, I just looked at the jpg on my CRT monitor at home and really noticed the difference. I have a LCD at work and the blue stands out. Here it is even more subdued. I like it even more.

I have tested it on 4 different flat panels, one laptop and 2 CRTs.
It looks way better on CRTs indeed.
When it is final, I will make two versions so that people can pick up their choice.
As we are working close to the threshold of visibility, the dynamic range of the display and the local gamma/brightness/contrast/color temperature can make a big difference.

bh · Post #13by bh » 14.06.2006, 11:18

Nice work there Boux.

fsgregs · Post #14by **fsgregs** » 14.06.2006, 13:56

Boux:

Ah ... I feel stupid but .... where is the upload link to the new ring texture? I checked both forum posts and have not found it :oops:

Frank

Boux · Post #15by **Boux** » 14.06.2006, 14:27

fsgregs wrote:Boux:

Ah ... I feel stupid but .... where is the upload link to the new ring texture? I checked both forum posts and have not found it

Frank

Frank, you can't find a link ... because there is none yet :wink:

It is a work in progress.
I have still to fine-tune the reddish almost invisible G ring that I want to show here to get feedback.
Additionally, I am not happy yet with the profile of the E ring and have to do some more job on it.
I have not decided yet whether I will put both rings in the same texture or keep them separate (for more flexibility from a user's perspective).
I will post a link to download the add-on package this week-end - well... if it is finished, as usual.
There will be four textures and two ssc files in it.
One set of 2 textures+1 ssc for high contrast/brightness flat panels and another set for CRTs and/or dimmer displays.
It is tricky to work on almost invisible textures.
Fortunately, the Gimp has good built-in tools and plugins, which helps a lot.

Boux · Post #16by **Boux** » 14.06.2006, 19:23

I have updated the picture on top of this thread.
I have included the G ring with a reddish-brown colour (red plus a hint of green).
It is veeeerrrryyyy dim!

Boux · Post #17by **Boux** » 15.06.2006, 19:18

New version with fine-tuned profiling and positioning.
This is the "bright" version for low-contrast displays (crappy flat panels and washed out CRTs):

If there is demand, I will make a really dim version for high dynamic displays.

Johaen · Post #18by **Johaen** » 15.06.2006, 19:35

Oh wow, I didn't even see the red ring at 1st. I was about to ask about it, lol.

I'm using a Flat Panel moniter at work. I'll have to look and see how it looks on my CRT at home. Very fancy work.

Post #19by **t00fri** » 15.06.2006, 19:46

Well, I am following this additional Saturn ring business
here since a few days. Could someone give me some
scientific background reference whether these weak blue
and red and... rings are visible for the naked eye!?

I am quite sure they are NOT!

So far the rules of the game in Celestia are that we ignore
wavelength filters and essentially concentrate on
phenomena that are visible without special instruments...

Bye Fridger

Boux · Post #20by **Boux** » 15.06.2006, 20:02

t00fri wrote:Well, I am reading this additional Saturn ring business here since a few days. Could someone give me some scientific background reference whether these weak blue and red and... rings are visible for the naked eye!?

I am quite sure they are NOT!

So far the rules of the game in Celestia are that we ignore wavelength filters and essentially concentrate on phenomena that are visible without special instruments...

Bye Fridger

Of course, they are not visible with the naked eye.
What is your problem?
This is an add-on.
You don't like it, that's fine. So what?
I don't care about YOUR rules.